Merry Meet
by Tobiasven
Summary: Luna stays after class to bug the Potions Master. SSLL but not SSLL. Could be in later stories though.


Title: Merry Meet  
Author: Tobiasven  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
Pairings: None really.  
Rated: K+  
Luna stays after class to bug the Potions Master.

Merry Meet

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Merry Meet

Severus didn't look up from his desk as the room cleared of third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. He couldn't stand to look at them. They were too cheerful by far. Didn't they know their danger? There was not one but two Death Eaters in their mists. And only one cracked out Auror to police them.

He had fucking killed Aurors better them him. Not many people knew that little tidbit. It was one of the last things he did as a full-fledged Death Eater. He didn't regret it as much as he thought he should. They were trying to kill him, after all. They almost did.

There were two of them, all red hair and triumphant faces at finding a baby Death Eater. They weren't fast enough, either of them. One exsangiunated on the floor while the other choked for a breath he would never get. He watched them die with cold black eyes.

He had the fleeting thought that Bill Weasley would cry when he learned of his uncles' fate. Since that day he couldn't look Bill in the face, or any of those red headed monstrosities, for that matter. Every year since then was another child with Gideon's eyes or Fabian's smile. He was sure Molly only kept breeding to make him suffer.

Severus brought his wand to bear and looked up. One girl was still sitting at her table staring intently at him, Ravenclaw by the look of her blue bag. She wore gaudy yellow earrings with her wand tucked neatly behind her ear. Her eyes were as bright as the moon. That was the only reason he remembered her name, her first name anyway. He couldn't for the life of him remember her surname.

Luna stared at him unblinking like she was staring down a hippogriff. Severus lowered his wand. "The bell rang, Miss, or did that overlarge brain of yours forget its first tidbit of information," he bit.

Luna didn't move. She didn't cringe or blush. She simply sat in her seat and stared. Suddenly she blinked, once. "You better watch your stores. The Carswraiths are wondering about."

Severus scowled. He didn't know what the hell Carswraiths were or why they would want anything to do with his potions ingredients. He prided himself on his vast knowledge of many things, even if it was a very limited knowledge. This creature she was talking about didn't exist.

Luna got up then, leaving her bag on the floor and approaching his desk. He glared at her from his chair. The short girl was level with him at this angle. She leaned closer over the desk. "Just be careful they don't steal your soul too."

Severus flinched. The words from that young mouth crashed over him. His soul was already lost. She leaned away and for an instant her eyes shifted. Green-gray eyes changed to quicksilver, irises as clear as a mirror reflected his face. For that moment Severus felt real fear. He had almost forgotten what it felt like.

He had seen eyes like that many years ago. A girl with chocolate brown hair a few years younger than he, they ran into the Charms classroom to hide from Filch. In an unguarded moment Celeste Lysander, future wife of Xenophilius Lovegood, let the glamour drop and Severus first saw the eyes of a Fey. He screamed. He couldn't stop himself even if he tried.

He almost screamed again. A Fey leaning against his desk, worrying over his soul, he trembled. "Miss Lovegood," he whispered. "I'm sure my stores will be fine."

Luna smiled at him brightly as if she just didn't show him her darker side. "Of course. You probably have all sorts of wards and a few Daderies to keep your potions safe," she said nodding.

"Yes," he agreed. He couldn't find it in him to supply another answer. Daderies meant nothing to him but the slight girl obviously knew what she was talking about.

She pulled a chair to the desk and sat down primly. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Daderies are a good deterrent against people and a single Carswraith but if they come in numbers your Darderies are going to run."

She stared at him intently for a moment like she was conducting some silent Legilimency. He looked away uneasily. If it had been any other human he would have told them to bugger off, but Luna was Fey. She was purer by half than any wizard he had ever met. He couldn't even bring his dark viciousness down on her. For the first time in his life he didn't feel the need to cause pain to another.

"Would you like tea?" he asked suddenly. He couldn't fathom why he though tea would make the situation better.

Luna smiled again. "Oh, okay," she said. "Do you have any chai? No, don't bother black tea will be fine."

Severus waved his wand conjuring a tea tray with teapot and matching cups. He refused to let his hand shake as he poured hot water. He dropped in a small bobber filled with tealeaves and handed a cup to Luna.

He couldn't believe what he was doing. He was sitting in his classroom having tea with a student and talking about things only Lewis Carroll could imagine. He tried to remind himself that she was a child, and that he had lied to the Dark Lord and lived to tell about it. Children were not something to be feared.

Luna sipped her drink then nodded approvingly. "I wouldn't really worry about your stores to much. A Carswraith won't take anything to valuable. You should really think about getting some protection for yourself. They are five times worse than those dementors last year. They are afraid of Foopers but it would make a lot of noise. A necklace or something would work better."

She looked up at him sheepishly. "Oh, I've been talking all over you, Professor. I'm sorry. What do you think?"

"Nothing is going to take my soul, Miss Lovegood," he said with a fraction of his former animosity. "Nothing is bold enough to try to take it."

She nodded her head exuberantly. "That's the spirit. I bet the dementors didn't cause you any problem at all." She flipped her dirty blond hair over her shoulder. She tenderly inspected the green leaf pattern on the side of her cup.

Severus felt the insatiable urge to grin. He didn't though. No one could force him to show anything but contempt for human life. "No, the dementors were quite used to me. I'd rather share a room with them than entertain a Fwooper."

"Professor, please, I know you can't have a Fwooper down here. Your class suicide rate would go up by two," she said seriously.

The man did grin then. He couldn't stop himself. It was as good as a full-blown laugh for him. He tipped his cup and drained it. "We can't have students jumping off the Astronomy Tower now can we. What do you suggest I use to protect myself from these…Carswraiths?"

Luna sat her cup on the desk and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "You should have a charm, a trinket, you can wear. Those are the easiest. A ring, no, not with your job. A necklace would work best." She suddenly reached inside her robes and pulled out a long piece of twine with a pendant attached. She held it out to him expectantly. "You can add some spells to it, but a lot of creatures seem to be afraid of X's."

Severus didn't move. He didn't reach for the necklace like he wanted to, he couldn't. He sighed looking across the desk at her. "It's not an X, Luna. It's a cross; a muggle religious symbol."

She looked closely at the small piece of gold and shrugged. "My mother gave it to me when I was seven. She said it would keep the monsters away. You need it more than I do."

The young girl dropped the cross on the desk and grabbed her blue bag. Luna ran from the room as fast as her feet could take her. Leaving a thunder struck Potions Master in her wake.

Severus slowly reached across the desk and picked up the cross. He hadn't touched one since his father declared his son was Satan's spawn. Not that his father was far off the mark. He had been in the devil's inner circle. He was favored above all but one in the end. He gave the Dark Lord the prophecy. The other little Judas gave him the Potters. Even at treachery the Marauders did him one better.

Severus twitched in annoyance. It would take a crazy student to make him think those thoughts again. He snatched the cross the put it in his pocket before he could think about it. He quickly banished the teacups and tray back to his kitchen before retreating to his rooms to hide from memories and mirrored eyes.


End file.
